When you think of big, glossy Hollywood productions, Baltimore — my hometown — is probably not what most people think of but for a few years (until a lack of tax incentives drove a lot of productions out of town like the musical version of Hairspray) Baltimore was the Hollywood of the east. All of John Waters‘ movies have been filmed in Baltimore as well as a large chunk of Barry Levinson‘s output (he’s also a Baltimore native), and Baltimore has stood in for neighboring D.C. in such films as Enemy of the State and Live Free or Die Hard.
Baltimore got an even bigger boost when NBC decided to shoot the TV series Homicide: Life on the Street in the town that was as much of a character as the people in David Simon‘s book, Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets. The show lasted for seven seasons and while it was never a giant ratings success, it has been regarded (and rewarded) as one of the finest television series ever produced. Based on the success of Homicide‘s time in the city, HBO optioned another David Simon work for the small screen, The Corner, a mini-series that led to the development of another acclaimed series, The Wire. These shows were widely hailed for the quality of the production and storytelling, but a lot of people in Baltimore were worried that the depiction of the drug dealers and squalor of the inner city would give viewers the impression that Baltimore as a whole was exactly as depicted on screen.
After The Wire ended production in 2008, Hollywood pretty much left Baltimore for more tax-friendly locations like North Carolina and Toronto (and even though it was a slap in the face, the production team of Hairspray did a remarkable job of recreating downtown Baltimore of the 60s in Toronto). But Baltimore is getting back into the television production game in a big way with the new HBO series VEEP, which is scheduled to begin shooting this fall for a 2012 debut (the pilot was filmed in February). This is a huge deal to the city not only because of the production but because the show has a big-name star attached to it – Julia Louis-Dreyfus! In the show, Louis-Dreyfus will portray a US Senator who becomes Vice President and learns the job is nothing like she expected and everything people warned her about. The series is based on a British comedy, The Thick of It, and will also star Tony Hale. Arrested Development fans should appreciate the reunion of the two stars (Louis-Dreyfus played the compulsively lying prosecutor on George Sr.’s case).
Once again, Baltimore will be standing in for D.C. but that’s okay. As a native, it’s fun to watch scenes filmed downtown that are supposed to be D.C. and have a few laughs at the geography. But it’s going to be great to have a major production back in town, employing local cast and crew and having two major stars taking up residence in our city (I promise I will try not to stalk Ms. Louis-Dreyfus). Here’s hoping that VEEP will be hilarious and successful and will have a run, and the prestige, similar to that other long-running sitcom Louis-Dreyfus was a part of.
Clacked by Chuck Duncan 
on Apr 29, 2011 @ 15:11 EST5EDT
